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School Libraries

thedenverchannel.com Reports "The Cat Who Killed Lilian Jackson Braun: A Parody" and "Arming America: The Origins of a National Gun Culture," will remain on the shelves of libraries run by the Weld Library District.

But members of the board still are considering an objection to a book that has explicit depictions of sexual development during puberty.Second Story Here.

DEH writes ""More than Just a Pretty Face: and other observations on school libraries and teacher-librarianship" is the title of a webpage created by Donald Hamilton, formerly Education Librarian at the University of Victoria in British Columbia. The page offers a collection of short pithy provocative pieces that appeared in several journals over the past decade. They are offered without charge, to the field for any educational purpose. Check out the classic "Inventory: Folly or Fancy?" that has been reprinted many times. You will find the page at members.shaw.ca/donaldhamilton "

Anonymous Patron writes "If you want further information on the (AP) story about the Kansas librarian suing for $500,000, visit the website: http://www.hicksvusd470.com. Yes, he should have gotten written permision--too trusting after 25 years as the HS librarian. He verbally notified his building principal and the district library chairperson of his actions, both of which corroborated his testimony at the due process trial. Interestingly, USD 470's computer expert found a total of FIVE porn hits on the librarian's THREE year old computer."

Here's An Editorial Out Of Indiana on an English class at Franklin Central High School had read about three-fourths of the novel "Fallen Angels" when the students were told to stop. Principal Kevin Koers decided the book was too profane, and it was dropped from the curriculum.
The editorial says obtaining parental consent is the best way to teach sensitive topics while protecting all students' sensibilities.

"Administrators and teachers need to look for ways to keep classrooms relevant, challenging and interesting while respecting the concerns of parents who want their children protected from influences they don't deem appropriate. That's a tough order."

Bob Cox spotted This One out of FL, where Jill Leskow is proud that her 11-year-old son likes to read, but when he brought home a catalog from school with the book title When Dad Killed Mom on its cover she was stunned.
But because of Leskow's complaint, the district is now looking into how to handle a review of the book catalogs before they reach students.

Labeling a book inappropriate, however, is not an easy process even when dealing with school libraries and reading material for English classes.

School librarians have a recommended list of books to choose from, but may purchase other books at their discretion. There is no banned-book list for Palm Beach County schools.

"A new report from the Emerging Technology Committee of the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) examines the implementation of wireless LAN technologies in K-12 schools and identifies challenges, options and lessons learned. The goal is to provide a practical road map for CTOs, CIOs, school administrators, technology coordinators and others charged with planning for wireless implementation."

" Wireless Technologies: Two-thirds of the districts surveyed (68%) report current ownership of wireless devices, a jump from 39% in 2002. Importantly, an additional seven percent of districts report they will purchase wireless devices for the first time this year. Districts will be spending $220 million in 2003-2004 for wireless networking and equipment including portable wireless laptop carts and wireless-enabled handhelds."

The Macon Telegraph Reports Last month, two popular books that dealt with sex, reckless driving and murder alarmed parent Katie Jones so much that she fought for their removal from the Crawford County Middle School library.

She won, at least for now.

"Extreme Elvin" by Chris Lynch and "Double Date" by R.L. Stine, are books that deal with the often complex issues teenagers confront. They are now off limits to students.

The books will continue to stay off the shelves until at least December when board members finalize a library book policy, said Crawford County school board Chairwoman Patrice Walker.

Mary H. Musgrave points us to This List Of Reasons produced by the Department of Education Library and Information down in Australia. Includes Snappy Comebacks, and Longer answers.

"We still need libraries because â€œeverythingâ€? is not on the Internet. Not even Bill Gates can afford to digitise the sum total of human knowledge. And we need librarians because, as chaotic as the Internet is, librarians are trained to find information, and to determine which source - print or electronic â€“ is the most appropriate to retrieve what is wanted."